Grantmaking Foundations
Industry Profile Report
Dive Deep into the industry with a 25+ page industry report (pdf format) including the following chapters
Industry Overview Current Conditions, Industry Structure, How Firms Operate, Industry Trends, Credit Underwriting & Risks, and Industry Forecast.
Call Preparation Call Prep Questions, Industry Terms, and Weblinks.
Financial Insights Working Capital, Capital Financing, Business Valuation, and Financial Benchmarks.
Industry Profile Excerpts
Industry Overview
The 12,100 grantmaking foundations in the US award grants from trust funds to support charitable activities. Top areas of focus for giving include healthcare, education, human services, public affairs, arts and culture, environmental causes and animals, and international affairs.
Market Risk Challenges Investments
Fluctuations in interest rates, corporate earnings, and global financial markets can create a challenging investment environment for foundations.
Facing Public Scrutiny
Grantmaking foundations, particularly public foundations, face scrutiny from the public to provide transparency.
Industry size & Structure
The average grantmaking foundation operates out of a single location, employs about nine workers, and generates $14.7 million annually.
- According to the US government, the grantmaking foundation industry consists of about 12,100 firms that employ 112,300 workers and generates $178 billion in revenue.
- The 238 US foundations surveyed in 2019 received over $9.4 billion in gifts, distributed nearly $8.4 billion to organizations and individuals, and managed over $94.1 billion in assets, according to Candid and the Columbus Survey.
- The top 50 organizations account for about 38% of industry revenue.
- Large organizations include the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Ford Foundation, and the Silicon Valley Community Foundation (SVCF).
- Most foundations have less than $50 million in assets.
Industry Forecast
Grantmaking Foundations Industry Growth
Recent Developments
Jul 13, 2024 - Labor Costs Increase
- Grantmaking foundation industry employment increased moderately during the first five months of 2024 while average wages for nonsupervisory employees increased slightly, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Grantmaking foundation industry sales are forecast to grow at a 5.85% compounded annual rate from 2024 to 2028, faster than the growth of the overall economy, according to Inforum and the Interindustry Economic Research Fund, Inc. Foundations generate revenue from endowment returns and donations.
- Cumulative grant dollars from foundations that responded to the Foundation Giving Forecast Survey conducted by Candid increased 1.7% year over year in 2023 to $26.2 billion. The change in giving in 2023 for each foundation ranged from a decrease of 75% to an increase of more than 100%. The median foundation gave about the same in 2023 as in 2022 (a 0.3% increase).
- Few philanthropic foundations invest their endowment assets to create positive social and environmental change in addition to high returns, according to Bridgespan Social Impact. About 5% of the primarily US-based foundations surveyed invest their assets for impact. One of the biggest concerns is financial performance. Some foundation leaders worry that impact investments lead to so-called concessionary returns, where a market rate of return is sacrificed to achieve a social or environmental benefit. Foundations are required by the US Internal Revenue Service to grant 5% of their assets each year to charity; in practice they have granted slightly more in the last 10 years — an average of 7% of their assets, according to Delaware-based FoundationMark. The remaining assets of these foundations are invested with the intention of earning the “highest-possible risk-adjusted financial returns.” Those investments allow these organizations to grant funds often in perpetuity.
- Four of the top five US environmental grantmakers are Americans who rank among the 30 wealthiest people in the world, according to Forbes. About two-thirds of the listed grantmaking operations are funded by billionaires. Several of the institutions on Forbes' list did not exist a few years ago: Bezos Earth Fund, Yield Giving, and Sequoia Climate Foundation. The climate fund of Amazon founder and former world’s richest man Jeff Bezos was the largest environmental funder in the US during 2021. Others, like the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, made their first climate grants in 2021.
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